


Cause Midnight's Callin'

by ImNewAtThis



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Smug Joe Tate, Supportive Aaron Dingle, Tired Robert, worried aaron
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-09
Updated: 2018-04-09
Packaged: 2019-04-20 20:55:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14269350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImNewAtThis/pseuds/ImNewAtThis
Summary: A small fic based on tonight's episode (09/04/2018). The title is taken from the song Just Ain't Easy by The Allman Brothers.Aaron worries that Robert's putting himself under too much stress at the hands of Joe and decides to do something about it.





	Cause Midnight's Callin'

Aaron only hears the tail-end of the conversation as he makes his way towards the top of the stairs, making his way from the bedroom where he has just put Seb down for a nap. With Liv still visiting her mum and Gerry out god knows where, he's looking forward to finally spending some proper alone time with his husband, because it's not like they've had much time for each other recently, what with Liv getting arrested, Joe constantly sticking his unwanted nose in, and Syd turning up. Perhaps now, they can relax for a bit, at least whilst they still can before Liv's court hearing next week. Spending the evening curled up on the couch with a film, a few beers and a takeaway sounds perfect.

“No matter what Jimmy says, you work for me, we all know it.”

Or maybe he spoke too soon.

Aaron hovers at the top of the stairs as he listens to the voices below. Joe Tate's voice absolutely reeks with smugness and Aaron grips the bannister, it’s all he can do to stop himself from rushing down there. Instead he waits to hear Robert's response, silently pleading that his husband doesn’t make matters worse by coming out with some childish retort.

“Is there something else you want Joe?”

“Not right now”, and Aaron moves his foot forward to make his first step down the stairs, but then stops as he hears Joe continue. “But when I do, I’ll know that every minute of everyday, you're here at my beck and call, just waiting to do my bidding. Isn’t that right?”

And once again Aaron grips the bannister, an angry scowl appearing on his face, debating in his head whether or not he should go down there and have it out with Joe himself. No one talks to his husband like that and expects to get away with it. Instead, he remains where he is and waits to hear Robert speak, deciding that he might do something he'll later regret if he goes down there now and faces Joe.

He’s broken out of his thoughts by his husband's voice.

“I best crack on with these.”

And the anger Aaron feels bubbling inside his chest slightly dissipates as he feels an overwhelming sense of pride listening to Robert. For once he isn’t letting his anger overtake his brain, he isn’t rising to Joe’s bait, and that’ll rattle Joe more than shouting at him would, knowing the childish business man would much rather enjoy seeing Robert lose it because of him.

Once he hears Joe and their other “guest” – who he can only assume is his favourite bodyguard Graham, seriously the man can’t go anywhere without needing the older man to protect him – leave, only then does he make his way down the stairs, turning towards the door where he knows Robert is still standing. When he spots his husband, he has his back towards him, and upon hearing Aaron land on the ground, he turns around to face him, and Aaron notices he’s holding an orange folder in his hands.

“Seb went out like a light, should stay asleep for a few hours now.” And Robert nods his head in gratitude. Aaron can tell by the way Robert has yet to say anything that he’s lost in thought. “What did that idiot want? I heard him whilst I was upstairs.”

Robert shakes his head slightly, breaking out of his thoughts, and lifts the folder he’s holding into the air, so Aaron can see it clearly. “New client, apparently he needs a quote for a year of deliveries, Joe says it may take me a while.”

Aaron folds his arms over his chest, and clears his throat. “Right. So why’s he bothering you with this? If it’s his new client then shouldn’t he be dealing with it?”

Robert sighs, his arm dropping back to his side. “I dunno, I suppose so but with Jimmy barely turning up to work, I’ve been managing everything practically by myself, so I imagine I’m the only one who can access all of that. Joe only bought my share of the haulage company to get one over on me, he doesn’t have a clue how to run it."

“Then he needs to learn then. If he's going to be working there from now on then he should be sorting this out, not you. It’s not your responsibility anymore. And why couldn’t this have waited until the morning?” Aaron asks, taking a small step towards Robert, placing his hands in his pockets and straightening up slightly.

Robert sighs again, shuffling towards the table in the kitchen and placing the folder down, brushing a hand through his hair as he turns around to face his husband. “Said he’d promised the guy he’d have it by the morning, he reckons I’ll need to pull an all-nighter in order to get it done.”

At this Aaron chokes out a laugh, shaking his head slightly, as he leans back against the kitchen counter.

“Are you being serious? He expects you to spend all night working on something he should be doing himself? No way. Robert- ” Aaron stares at Robert like he’s got two heads. “Rob, you don’t have the time to do that, in case he's forgotten you have a life as well y'know, you have a son upstairs, and you’ve been working all day already, I’ve barely seen you as it is.”

“I know Aaron but I- ”

“-And I heard what he said to you, about you working for him and that’s bull, you work for Jimmy, Joe has no control over you. And you are not going to be at his beck and call either.” At this Robert looks up at him in surprise. “Yeah. I heard that too.” And then Aaron pushes himself off the kitchen counter and makes his way to Robert, grabbing his hands tightly before starting to slowly rub his own up and down his husband’s arms in a soothing motion.

“And whilst I’m so, so proud of you for not kicking off with him or rising to him, you need to understand that what he said is not true. Yeah? You do not answer to him, and you are not there to do his “bidding”. Do you understand?” His voice is much softer now, void of any frustration or anger that it previously carried as he tilts Roberts head up to look back at him, and away from the spot on the floor that he seems to have suddenly taken an interest in.

For the third time that afternoon, Robert let’s out a sigh. “Yes.” And he rolls his eyes slightly when Aaron narrows his own as if to question whether Robert really means it. “Yes I understand, alright? I don’t answer to Joe.” A small smile appears on his face as Aaron nods at him, letting out a sigh of his own.

“Good.” Aaron kisses his forehead softly, before pulling away and pulling his phone out of his pocket. “Right then, as I said earlier, Seb's out for the count and seeing as we’ve got the place to ourselves tonight, I’m going to order us a takeout and you can pick out a film for us to watch. No superhero film though, there’s only so many times I can watch those Avenger films you like.” He jokes with a laugh, starting to dial the number for their local curry house.

Only Robert hesitates.

“Look, before you say anything, I was listening to everything you just said and you’re right, I don’t answer to Joe Tate. But this client is expecting this quote in the morning, and he could bring in more business for us, I can’t let him dow- ”

“Right. Firstly, what did I just say? You don’t have the time Rob. You’ve been working all day and it’s only right you get to spend the night relaxing, both of us need it after what happened last week.” And he watches as Robert visibly shivers at that reminder. It’s rather scary how things could have turned out if Robert hadn't been able to get hold of that money, and it’s something neither of them want to really think about again.

“Secondly, I understand this might be important for the business. I do. But- ” Only Robert cuts him off.

“Aaron please, I’ll try not to overdo it alright? But this might be important for the business, and I might not be a shareholder anymore but I still care whether it’s successful or not. Just let me get some done tonight, see how much I can get done, and then maybe tomorrow I can finish it in the morning before Joe's client turns up.”

Aaron sighs again, using this free hand to wipe his mouth and beard, breathing deeply before looking back at Robert.

“Fine. But only after we’ve had this takeout, okay? And we’ll watch a film whilst we eat and only then can you get some work done. But I don’t want you doing too much tonight, alright?”

At this Robert breathes out and smiles at Aaron, moving forward to plant a small kiss on his lips before making his way to the TV stand to pick out a film. “Thank you.”

And Aaron replicates the smile before putting the phone to his ear and waiting for a member of staff to answer.

 

It’s now nearing midnight and Robert is hard at work on the round table in their kitchen. Once their takeout arrived the two men spent a couple of hours watching a film and eating their meal as the day slipped into the evening.

Robert kept his promise to enjoy their tea and film first, not making any effort to get up and make a start on the pile of work Joe left straight away, and Aaron knows that if he didn’t feel like it was absolutely necessary, Robert wouldn’t be bothering at all. But like his husband said, he still cared about the business and he had worked hard these last few years to keep it up and running, almost single handed as Jimmy and Nicola continued to take more and more time off work, so Aaron couldn’t really blame Robert for wanting to please this new client, he just hoped he wouldn’t overdo it tonight.

Which of course he did.

Aaron went to bed a couple of hours ago, spending a long day at the scrapyard and then looking after Seb for the afternoon had taken it out of him, and after spending a few hours keeping Robert company as he got stuck into his work, he eventually made his way up to bed, checking on Seb on the way, but not before making the blonde man promise to follow him up soon.

When Aaron woke up and noticed the clock on his bedside cabinet blinking 23:42 at him, he immediately shifted to look beside him and was disappointed to see his husband's side of the bed empty and unslept in. Sighing loudly, he forced himself out of bed and shuffled barefoot out of their bedroom and towards the stairs.

As he descended down the spiral staircase he spotted Robert at the table, with his laptop out and paperwork scattered all along the table's surface. Judging by the way his husband's head was hunched down over his work, he could tell he wasn’t even aware of Aaron's presence.

“Rob.” At this, Robert's head shot up to meet Aaron's gaze, and his already tired eyes dimmed even further as he noticed the stern look on his husband's face. “It's nearly midnight. What are you still doing down here?”

Robert slowly put down the paperwork he was holding and covered his face with his hands, attempting to rub the sleep out of his eyes and stifle a yawn.

“I still have so much work to do Aaron, I’m not even close yet.” The defeated look on his face caused Aaron’s eyes to soften and he made his way over to the table and pulled out a chair to sit next to his husband.

“Rob. Robert look at me.” And his husband turned to face him. “This is getting ridiculous, you’ve been at this for hours now. You promised you’d follow me up, that was ages ago now.”

“I know, I know Aaron but this needs doing, and I’ve still got too much to do that I can’t leave until the morning.”

“Yeah but this isn’t your responsibility, I’ve already told you Joe does not get to boss you around, if he wanted it done by morning he should have done it himself, or gotten someone else to do it. Why are you listening to him anyway? Last week you were saying you didn’t want him to walk all over you.”

Robert sighed again, lowering his arms onto the table.

“Because it’s my fault we're in this position anyway.”

And any retort Aaron had lined up died instantly at that. “What do you mean it’s your fault? Robert, how could this possibly be your fault?”

“Because I’m the one who agreed to sell my shares to Joe for that money. He almost got owner ship of this place as well. I was so stupid.” Once again he brought his hands to his face.

“Robert, that wasn’t your fault, you were only trying to protect me, and I get that. I know I had a go at you for it when you first told me and I’m sorry about that, but you did what you had to do and I know that now. You managed to get that money in 2 hours, you saved my life! And if the roles were reversed I’d have done the exact same to get you home safe. And the fact that you went to Joe, the guy you hate, the fact you weren’t worried about hurting your pride by going to him proves how much you love me. And I’m so grateful for that Rob. Please don’t blame yourself for this.” Aaron takes Robert's hand in his and squeezes gently. And Robert let’s out a small smile.

“Aaron I know you mean well but that still doesn’t change anything. Yeah, I may work for Jimmy but Joe doesn’t see it like that, now that I owe him for that money he’s going to use every opportunity he can to get me to do what he wants. He already tried to kick me out of the cabin today, now he’s a shareholder he’s acting like he owns the place, and I know he’s going to attempt to take the Mill again, it’s only a matter of time.” And Robert sounded so defeated that Aaron's heart almost broke at the sight.

And he knew they couldn’t continue like this. This ends now.

“Right. Y'know what? That’s it. You’re going to stop working now, and you’re going to go upstairs, get ready for bed and you’re going to sleep. And ah-ah!” He shouts when he sees Robert attempt to interrupt. “And whilst you do that, I’m going to pack all this up, and I’m going up to Home Farm right now to have a word with Joe.”

At this Robert's eyes widen. “Aaron, no. You can’t do that, you’ll just make it worse.”

“No trust me alright, he’s not getting away with the way he’s treated you, alright? And you don’t need to worry about me ‘cause I know what I’m doing, okay? So go on, go upstairs, check on Seb, and then go to sleep, I'll be back soon.”

And after kissing Robert on the head, Aaron quickly ran upstairs, threw on some pants and trainers, before rushing back downstairs to grab his coat. Robert has cleared the table by this point and all of the paperwork was back in the folder. Gratefully, Aaron took the folder from Robert's hands and gave him one last kiss before pushing him gently in the direction of the stairs and heading towards the door, grabbing his car keys along the way.

“Now go and get some sleep, I won’t be long.”

 

Joe was woken abruptly to a loud banging noise coming from downstairs. As he made his way out of bed and shuffled down the stairs in a hastily thrown on dressing gown, he realised the noise was coming from the front door.

Unlocking the door quickly, he was soon knocked back slightly as Aaron pushed his way through the door and into the hallway, orange folder in hand.

“Do you mind? Do you have any idea what time it is?” Joe asked angrily, staring at Aaron incredulously.

“Yeah, I do as it happens. It’s just gone midnight, and believe me there are plenty of places I’d rather be right now instead of here with you, but unfortunately this can't wait.”

“What can't?” Joe asked in surprise as the folder for suddenly thrust in his face and he was forced to grab it before Aaron dropped it to the floor. “Why do you have this? Shouldn’t your little boyfriend be working on this as we speak. I’ve already told him the importance of getting this done tonight.”

“Which is exactly why I am here.” Aaron growls out. “See right now I should be in bed with my husband as we speak, but instead I’m here dealing with you because you think it’s acceptable to treat him like a doormat. In case it has slipped your tiny little mind, he has a life of his own, outside of work, like his son for one, and I do not appreciate having to get up in the early hours of the morning to drag him to bed because he's too busy doing your job. If you’re going to be a shareholder of that business then you need to learn to do things yourself. And before you say anything, Robert does not work for you, he works for Jimmy and the only reason he is still working at Home James is because he actually cares for the business, unlike you. And he is not at your beck and call every hour of every day, you got that?”

And all Joe can do is not at Aaron dumbly, unable to even form a sentence.

“Good. Now I suggest you get a head start on getting that quote sorted for your client, Robert got some of it done but there’s still a lot to do and you’re running out of time. So get cracking Joe.” He grins at him now, slapping him twice on the shoulder with his hand as he makes his way towards the door. Before turning around.

“Oh, and one more thing. If you ever try to kick Robert out of the cabin again, maybe I’ll need to remind you that I own that building, not you and not Jimmy, you pay rent to me. And if you try anything again then I'll kick you out. Got it?”

Once again Joe can only nod, his throat dry as he struggles to get anything out, and before he can, Aaron’s out the door and back in his car, driving home without even looking back.

Joe's stands there for a minute or so, staring dumbly at the door before he senses someone watching him. When he turns, he comes face to face with Graham, who is sporting a scowl and looks angry that he’s been woken up this early in the morning. As the pair stare at each other, Graham let’s out a grumbled “You deserved that” before making his way back up the stairs and to his room. Once again leaving Joe by himself.

 

With the roads quiet and hardly anyone about, Aaron makes it back home rather quickly. Back in the house he dumps his jacket on the back of the couch, kicks his shoes of and heads straight upstairs. When he enters the bedroom Robert’s already asleep, to Aaron’s relief, and Seb is still sleeping quietly in his crib on the other side of the room. As quietly as he can, Aaron gets ready for bed again, depositing his trousers in the laundry basket before climbing on the bed as gently as he can, climbing under the covers behind Robert and wrapping his arms around his husbanďs waist as he feels him stirring beside him. Robert lifts his head slightly.

“Is it sorted?”

And Aaron smiles a little “Yeah. All sorted.”

Was he settles down against the pillow he can feels his husband smiling. “Thank you.” Robert whispers.

And Aaron’s grin widens as he feels sleep finally start to take over. “Don’t worry about it. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

**Author's Note:**

> So this isn't very long, but I'm relatively happy with it. I appreciate any reviews, and constructive critism is gratefully appreciated. 
> 
> Despite having an AO3 account for a while this is my first fic on here, hopefully it's not too bad and if anyone wants me to write anything else I'll see what I can do. 
> 
> Thanks for reading! L x


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